For those who don't know, gif reviews are pretty much regular reviews... with gifs.
Now why is this tormenting me?
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| I can smell your sarcasm a mile away. |
I tried doing gif reviews when I first started blogging. It was terrible. Gifs were in the wrong place, they weren't used right and everything just dragged on and on. I'm actually so disappointed and my unprofessional reviews will haunt me forever.
Anyways, back to the story.
I wrote a really ranty and kind of snarky review of a book and posted it to Goodreads. This included a few gifs, some pictures and sarcasm. Lots of it. The review will go up my blog near the release date, which is in February. So I do this with every book, what changed? I got likes. I've never been known to get attention on my reviews [at all], which is totally fine. I don't blog for the attention. But this ranty review that had gifs and pictures and sarcasm got liked and that spoke to me.
So now I'm at a point where I'm like:
Is this what you guys want? Obviously people seemed to like my snarkier side. Or maybe they liked the gifs. Who knows? All I know is that now I'm torn. I did that gif review because I was irritated but I don't know if I could do it as a long term thing. I love hearing people's opinions to make my site better for everyone.
And I love my reviewing style but now I'm starting to question it.
Do you guys like the way I review? Is it too long? Too short? Too boring? Do you think I need to add gifs? Because right now, I'm thinking I'll do them for the books that either made me so mad or so happy. I know for a fact that I cannot do them for all books. Some books don't need gifs in their review; it looks... unnatural. I've seen reviews that have gifs where I'm like "this is so unnecessary!"
I'd really like your thoughts on this matter because, as I said, I am heavily indecisive and this will drive me mad. *slowly descends into psychosis*
This is my first time to your blog (HELLO, BTW!) so I'm not really sure about your reviewing style, but honestly? I think that if you enjoy how you review, you should go with that. So if you want to use gifs, DO IT. If you don't, DON'T DO IT! Easy. ^_^ You are queen of your blog after all. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by @ Paper Fury!
HII *waves like an idiot*
DeleteAnd hm... that's really interesting that you say because some of the time, I feel like there's this entity that controls my blog. It's good to get a reality check, thanks so much Cait! <3
Echoing what Cait is saying here. As long as you're enjoying your way of doing it, then continue on! :D Do whatever really suits you.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't have a diverse enough gif library to utilise them in my reviews, haha!
Yeah, I never understood how people can keep a STOCKED folder of gifs to use at their disposal.
DeleteIf you like your reviewing style, then keep rocking it. You don't want to change something you love for the sake of pleasing others – it may end up sucking the fun out of blogging altogether!
ReplyDeleteIndecisiveness -- THAT'S ME, TOO. I change my mind so frequently that it's not even funny.
ReplyDeleteBut I agree with Cait, it's your blog, so you shouldn't have to write reviews solely for people to enjoy them. You have to have fun writing them, too! So write however you feel. That being said, though, I have to admit that I'm one of those people who love reading snarky reviews. It just makes them so much more entertaining and hilarious. But I'm horrible with snark and I always feel awful whenever I try to add them into negative reviews that I just leave them out altogether. And gifs... I add them in if I'm trying to make a point, or to make things more interesting if my review is looking like one huge wall full of text (which happens all the time, that's how long-winded I am, oops).
I'm sorry I can't comment much on your review style because I'm new to your blog, but one thing's for certain: don't be self-conscious about your reviews! Add gifs if you feel like it. Otherwise, don't. No one's going to go after you with a bazooka either way. ;)
P.S. This is going to sound really weird, but... I LOVE YOUR NAME. "Nova" -- it sounds so cool. I'm a huge sci-fi nerd, so these things kind of stand out, bahaha.
You guys are all so awesome on the comfort <3
DeleteI think I'm going to ease it in and see where that takes me! And hey, being new means that you don't know that I'm crazy yet. ...Oops.
And yes, I love Nova too. That's why I chose it ;D
I've noticed that too! More and more people are using gifs in their reviews and it is usually for books people really liked or really hated. I tried doing this and failed miserably! I think it depends on you. You have a great personality and that comes out when you write your reviews. Everyone puts there own stamp on things in their own way so as long as you stay true to your voice, I think you should use gifs. Also gifs are able to say and portray your feeling accurately in ways that words cannot just comprehend.
ReplyDeleteI never use gifs but that's probably because I don't know where to find them lol.... I do like seeing gifs in reviews though, as long as there isn't an excessive amount of it. They can be fun and I especially love the cat ones ;) I think you should do whatever's most comfortable for you! If you feel like you need a gif to express your thoughts then do it. :D
ReplyDeleteEileen @ BookCatPin
I think you should review the way you want. Blogging is supposed to be a fun thing, so you should write reviews the way you want. I'll still read your reviews regardless of whether you use gifs or not. I used to use gifs in my reviews when I first started blogging, but I've always had this tendency to write more formally, so now I don't use gifs anymore. It makes blogging more fun, and that's what's important.
ReplyDeleteI don't use gifs (I have used a few though) but only because I'm lazy to go find them. But I don't mind gifs in reviews. Your blog, review however way you want!
ReplyDeleteOne downside is that too many gifs make the page loading time slow down but it's nothing significant :)
As long as you like what you're doing, then go with it--gifs or not! I sometimes use GIFs in my reviews, but not always. I think it's just important that you do what you feel like, and just because your readers love seeing GIFs more, doesn't mean you HAVE to change your review style xD
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't depend on your followers. It depends on YOU. You are the reviewer, and if you want to put GIFs in a review, just go with it!! It's about your own pleasure, not other people's! I do use the occasional GIF in reviews, but otherwise it's a very rare occurrence. Don't change your reviewing style for other people; just let it change with time, like mine did ^_^
ReplyDeleteI don't really use gifs unless I am seriously fangirling or hating on a book and need to illustrate my feelings because I can't use my words successfully. I haven't really got the faintest idea how to use them but I just stick them in where I feel like I'd pull a face if I was talking! Haha. I think if you aren't comfortable using them then don't. It will eventually come across as unnatural and your regular readers will get annoyed.
ReplyDeleteI like it when people add appropriate GIFs at the right places. I don't like it when a review is only GIF's with just a small sentence, because I want to READ how you feel about a book :) But at the same time, you should do whatever works for you and if you are happy with your reviews, you should stick with that!
ReplyDeleteI agree! And I feel like that's what everyone's said [because duh, it's the best advice] but I'm not really confident in anything I do :P
DeleteI like GIFs, if they're appropriate, and if there aren't too many of them. I think they work with pretty much any type of review, whether negative, positive or neutral - they're a fun visual way of showing how a book made you feel :D Sometimes it's actually easier to express emotions that way, I feel, haha!
ReplyDeleteI hate them. See them on Goodreads all the time. I just ignore them. Some of them bug my eyes.
ReplyDeleteI think it really depends on your feelings on the book. Personally, I have never added a GIF to my review. I just don't think it fits in with my review writing style. But I don't mind so much when I read reviews that have GIFs in them - as long as they add to the review. Useless GIFs are definitely irritating. I think the best used GIF reviews are the snarky ones, like the one you mentioned that you posted to Goodreads. GIFs are great for snark, and to a lesser extent excitement.
ReplyDeleteRandom anecdote: in my discussions in ye olde days, I used to use SO MANY GIFS, and now I look back and I'm just like: calm downnnnn, Chiara. So now I usually only use one. Too many GIFs can take away from the point you're trying to make!
I completely understand why you would want to question you're reviewing style, but I don't think you should change it.
ReplyDeleteAs for the GIf's I think that's secondary to the snarkyness. I always notice more attention given to my negative reviews than my positive, and I can get a little sarcastic. I love sarcasm when reading reviews so I can guess other people do also.
I rarely use GIFs. I have nothing against them, I just don't have the time to find them and use them in each review.
Great Post!
I have a huge indecisive problem - it can be a struggle! Anyway, echoing everyone else, I think that you should do whatever makes you happy!
ReplyDeleteI occassionally use gifs, but I really don't have time to use them very often. If I get a feeling of "hey, this review needs gifs," then I'll use gifs - usually on books I loved or didn't exactly connect with - but some reviews, still, just don't need them! I tend to take forever to find good gifs though.